Lessons in living mark Dennis-Yarmouth commencement

Saturday

Jun 9, 2012 at 12:01 AMJun 9, 2012 at 9:18 AM

At precisely 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 9, 200 members of the Class of 2012 proceeded onto the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School football field with dignified precision. While some faces reflected the solemnity of the day, others grinned their pride of accomplishment.

Following a moment of silence in memory of classmate Chelsi Varney who died on Jan. 9, Principal Ken Jenks noted the earned privilege of graduation, asking graduates to recognize the efforts of the hundreds of people who guided them along this leg of life’s journey. “Parents are the most important educators in a child’s life,” Jenks noted. “They’re the background heroes who took the journey alongside you and now must set you free.”

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Nicole Muller

At precisely 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 9, 200 members of the Class of 2012 proceeded onto the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School football field with dignified precision. While some faces reflected the solemnity of the day, others grinned their pride of accomplishment.

Following a moment of silence in memory of classmate Chelsi Varney who died on Jan. 9, Principal Ken Jenks noted the earned privilege of graduation, asking graduates to recognize the efforts of the hundreds of people who guided them along this leg of life’s journey. “Parents are the most important educators in a child’s life,” Jenks noted. “They’re the background heroes who took the journey alongside you and now must set you free.”

Jenks reminded students of their unique moments: sitting on the high school roof at 3 a.m. strumming guitars and awaiting the sunrise; participatiing in the D-Y Lip Dub; and bringing home the school’s first Super Bowl trophy. “You are also the first to develop a real appreciation for the pool and fountain at the Holiday Inn,” he said, drawing cheers and laughter as students recalled their antics following Friday night’s senior banquet.

Lauding their collective leadership skills, Jenks said that together, this class has left an indelible mark on the school. “Some of you beheld your class motto ‘Living the Dream’ with sincerity and some with a touch of cynicism,” he said. “I urge you to pursue the dream, believe in the dream, and live the dream.”

Urging graduates to refrain from sitting idly by, school committee member and D-Y Class of 1980 graduate Brian Carey of Dennis challenged graduates to continue making a difference. “Only you can determine how your future is shaped,” he said. “Who you are in high school does not define who you will become. When you get knocked down, get up, brush yourself off and keep going.”

Superintendent of Schools Carol Woodbury took graduates on a trip down Memory Lane with a nod to poet Ann Toland Serb’s “A Kiss for Kindergarten,” which she re-titled “A Kiss for Life.”

Describing how their parents felt the night before sending them off to kindergarten, Woodbuy proposed a similar feeling as parents contemplated this day of commencement, another new beginning. “Both times, a whole new world was about to open up for you, and we wonder how well we, your family, prepared you for this new world of yours,” she said.

The night before kindergarten, a stolen kiss on the head of a sleeping child was meant to keep him or her safe on the first day of school. “Thirteen years ago the kiss was for kindergarten,” Woodbury said. “We hate to see you leave, but we’re proud to see you go. I send you off with a kiss for life.”

Top of the class

“The word graduation signifies accomplishment, fulfillment, hard work and integrity,” said Salutatorian Lindsey A. Brown. “We came here rough around the edges and now we’re refined and tempered by the mark left on us from our years at D-Y.

After reminding graduates of the silly times, including taking turns wearing the Phineas Dolphin costume (‘Has that costume ever been washed?”) and “making the last big splash” together at the Holiday Inn following the senior banquet, Brown left them with a quote from author John Gardner. “‘Some people strengthen society just by being who they are,’” she said. “Always be yourself, and strive for being the best self possible.”

Referring to the title of the traditional commencement march, valedictorian Sabrina Joseph Jamiel referred graduates to Act III, scene iii of William Shakespeare’s “Othello.”

“Othello describes a soldier marching with dignity and grace into the battle that lies ahead,” Jamiel said. “We came on this field with pride, pomp and circumstance and sadness to be ending the best four years of our lives.” Now, she said, it's time to march on life's greater battlefield, remembering all they've learned on their walk together.

Challenging her classmates to take risks, to make mistakes and to get lost in thoughts that lead to great ideas, Jamiel added, “We must die to one life before we can enter another. As you leave here to the strains of ‘Pomp and Circumstance,’ carry with you all your memories and all your hopes for the future --- and make every step count.”